Containers, such as boxes, baskets and the like



Jan. 20, 1959 2,869,769

CONTAINERS, SUCH AS BOXES, BASKETS AND THE LIKE A. G. ROBINSON FiledJan. 30, 1957 INVENTOR V ALICE GRAM ROBINSON- BY mm 9 ATTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent CONTAINERS, suenxs Boxes; BASKETS AND TH K Alice GrainRobinson, Washington, D. C. Application January 30, 1957, Serial No.637,215 Claims. ci. 224-46 This invention relates broadly to cdntainers,such as boxes, baskets and the like, whichare intended and constructedto contain lsewinig materials and devices, tools, or other workingimplements. The invention is particularly described herein a5 a sewingbox but this is done only to illustrate the invention and it is to beunderstood that the invention isof general application to, and utilitywith, containers, boxes, baskets and the like for all purposes.

It has been a principal object of this invention to provide a container,which is particularly described herein as a sewingbox, which is easilyportable, having a cover means which may be closed to protect thematerials and devices cdr tained in it, and which is so constructed thatthe cover means, when opened provides legs or supports on which the boxor container rests iri order to permit ready access to the box orcontainer part of the device. Other objects and features of theinvention will be made apparent in the following specification and bythe annexed drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the sewing box provided a by theinvention, the cover means being shown in closed position;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the sewing box with the cover means inopen position to provide a support for the sewing box;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the sewing box with the covermeans in open, supporting position;

Fig. 4 is a partial view of one of the covers in open position, showingalso a modified form of the invention, and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged broken cross-sectional view taken substantially onthe line 55 of Fig. 3 showing a form of hinge that may be used with theinvention.

The sewing box provided by my invention comprises a box-like body part 2having side Walls 4, 6, end walls 8, and bottom 12. The side walls 4, 6extend slightly beyond the end walls at both ends, as indicated at 13,for a reason which will be explained fully hereinafter. This body part 2is preferably a rectangular parallelepiped in shape with the side andend walls extending upwardly at right angles from the bottom. The sideand end walls are preferably of relatively small height with respect tothe area of the bottom, thus providing an essentially traylike orshallow box. side walls 4, 6 midway between the ends and divides the boxpart into two compartments. At its central part this partition isprovided with an opening 16 which is disposed below the upper surface ofthe partition and which is elongated in order to permit the hand of theuser to be passed through it when the sewing box is to be lifted. Anydesired arrangement of drawers, receptacles and the like may be bulitinto or positioned within the two compartments defined by the partition14 and may be used, as desired, for the reception of sewing articles andmaterials, tools or the like.

Additional handle means are provided by the invention for use in liftingthe sewing box, and are positioned at A partition 14 extends between thei 2,869,769 Patented Jan. 20, 1959 "ice each end of the bottom part 12exteriorly of the box part. One of these handles is positioned at eachendof the box and these two handles are shown at 20, 22. These handlesare preferably formed integrally with the bottom part 12 and extendoutwardlyfrom the respective ends thereof at the central parts of suchends and beyond the ends of the side walls 4, 6. The handles areelongated transversely of the box part to provide openings within whichthe users hands may be inserted to lift the sewing box.

Means are provided the invention for covering the normally open top ofthe sewing boxand such means comprise two cover-members 30, 32 which arerespectively hinged, at their one ends-,- atthe opposite ends of the boxpart 2 between the side wall extensions 13 on hinge or pivot means 31;clearly shown in Fig. 5, positiohed closely adjacent the ripper edges ofthe side walls. Each of the two cover members is of such length that itextends from its pivotal siipport to the nearest side of the centralpartition 14 where it rests on suitable steps 33. Each cover member isformedin its outer edge with a central recess 34. Those recessesregister with each other when the cover members are in closed positions,as shown in Fig. l, and when in such position they are adjacent. thehand aperture 16 in partition 14, thus permitting a. userof the sewingbox to insert his hand through the apertiire 34 to grasp the handlemeans provided by pe r 16- a Each of the cover members 30, 32 has formedtherein an opening 36 which is elongated laterally of the cover memberand has such dimensions and is so positioned that when the cover membersare moved from their closed positions to their fully opened positions inwhich they abut the end wall members the handle members 20, 22 on theends of the box part pass through these openings 36 and extendtherethrough outwardly of the cover members, which are now in verticalposition as shown in Figs.

2 and 3. It will be apparent that in this open position the covermembers form legs or supports holding the box part in an elevatedposition in which it is readily accessible. Also, when the cover membersare in this open, supporting position the handles 20, 22 which extendtherethrough may be grasped by the user in order to move the sewing boxfrom place to place.

In a modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 4, each of the handles20, 22 is provided, within its central aperture, with a locking member40 which is supported on a pivot 42 for movement from the plane of thehandle 22 to a position outside that plane and in. which it holds thecover member in opened position.

It is believed that the construction and mode of operation and use of myinvention will be clearly understood from the foregoing specificationand that no further description of the operation and use of the deviceis required.

While I have described and illustrated certain embodiments of theinvention it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that otherembodiments, as well as modifications of those disclosed, may be madeand] practised without departing in any way from the scope of theinvention, for the limits of which reference must be made to theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A combined box and stand comprising a box part having side walls, endwalls and a bottom, two cover members, each of which is pivoted at itsone end adjacent the upper edge of an end wall of the box part, saidcover members being movable from closed positions in which they closethe open top of the box part to open positions in which each is insubstantially face-to-face abutment with the outer face of an end wallof the box part and in which the covers provide a support for the boxpart, a

handle member extending outwardly from each end of the box part, each ofsaid cover members having an aperture therein through which one of saidhandle members extends when the cover membersare in open positions.

2. A combined box and stand according to claim 1 in which the handlemembers are in the plane of the bottom of the box part and are adjacentthe central part thereof.

3. A combined box and stand according to claim 1 in which each handlemember has an aperture therein, and comprising in addition a memberpivotally mounted in the aperture in each handle member and beingmovable from a position in the plane of the handle member to a positionout of such plane in which it holds the associated cover member inopened position. i

4. A combined box and stand comprising a box part having side walls, endwalls and a bottom, said side walls extending beyond the end walls atboth ends of the box part, a handle extending outwardly from the boxpart at each end thereof and being in the plane of the bottom and at thecentral part thereof, a partition extending transversely of the box partmidway between the end walls thereof and having an aperture thereinbelow the upper surface thereof and positioned centrally between theside walls, two cover members each of which is pivoted at its one endbetween the extending parts of said side walls at one end of the boxpart and adjacent the upper edges of said side walls, said cover membersbeing movable to closed positions closing the open top of the box and toopen positions in which they are in substantially face-toface abutmentwith the outer faces of the end walls of the box part to providesupports for the box part, each of said cover members having a recess inthe free end edge thereof positioned midway of said free end edge whichrecesses permit access to the aperture in said partition when the covermembers are in closed positions, each of said cover members also havingan aperture therein which is so positioned that one of said handlemembers extends therethrough when the cover members are in openpositions.

5. 'A combined box and stand comprising a box part having side walls,end walls and a bottom, a fixed partition extending transversely of thebox part midway between the end walls thereof and being of substantiallythe same height as the side and end walls, an aperture in the centralpart of said partition below the upper edge thereof and belowthe upperedges of the side and end walls for the reception of the hand, two covermembers pivoted at their one ends adjacent the opposite end walls of thebox part and movable to closed positions in which their free ends areadjacent each other and adjacent said partition, each cover memberhaving a recess in the free end edge thereof adjacent the centralpart'thereof, which recesses are adjacent the aperture in said partitionwhen the cover members are in closed positions to thereby permitacces'sto said aperture, said cover members being of such length that whenmoved to open positions in which they are substantially in face-to-faceabutment with the outer faces of the end walls of the box part theyextend below the bottom to provide supports for the box part.

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,933,894 Clink Nov. 7, 1933 2,284,989 Rue June 2, 1942 2,318,973 SmithMay 11, 1943 2,405,955 Hunt Aug. 20, 1946

